Alok Masterbatches expands in India, plans for international growth

BANGALORE, INDIA — Alok Masterbatches Ltd. is setting-up its fifth production facility in India. The facility will cater to customers in southern India and Southeast Asia.

The plant, in the southern India city of Ranipet, will open in April with annual capacity of 20,000 metric tons, said Aditya Bhadauria, director of New Delhi-based Alok Masterbatches, in an interview at the Plastasia trade show in Bangalore.

The 60,000-square-foot plant will produce a wide range of masterbatches. Bhadauria said the region, which has a growing auto industry, is a big market for compounds.

The plant will give the company overall capacity of 60,000 metric tons annually. Alok has four plants in India — including two in Delhi — plus a plant that opened in Paraguay last year.

Alok is considering additional international growth.

"We plan to have a plant either in the Middle East or in Vietnam in the next couple of years. Vietnam is also offering incentives to foreign investors setting-up plants to cater to the European market," Bhadauria said.